Most of the newspaper back pages today are focused around one story.
Wolverhampton Wanderers losing to Man Utd at Old Trafford isn't exactly a big story in itself, but last nights result is sure to have any number of bloggers giving their 2 cents worth for a very different reason.
To the surprise of pretty much everyone, Wolves manager Mick McCarthy fielded 10 changes from the side that beat Tottenham at the weekend with only 'keeper Marcus Hahnemann retaining his place. When asked about his choice to play a second string side against the Champions, McCarthy responded by saying the players had a tough game against Tottenham and he wasn't prepared to risk injuries ahead of Sunday's possible relegation clash with Burnley.
This decision by McCarthy brings up a big debate. Did he possibly damage the integrity of the Premier League or did he make a clever, reasonable decision to rest his players for a game they really didn't have a chance of winning?
There is a part of me that believed McCarthy was right to put the needs of his club before those of any other. After all, managers field weaker teams in the cups to save their top players for Premier League (or Champions League) matches so McCarthy was well within his right.
My concern is that if all the teams towards the bottom of the table started to do that, its going to unbalance the competition.
There is also another part of me (and being a Wolves fan myself, a far angrier part of me!) that thinks it was nothing more than a cop out. Supporters would have got the message:“we haven't got a hope in hell of beating United so i’m going to save the first choice players for game with Burnley at the weekend, which we might be able to win".
Many people had written off Wolves' chances of beating Tottenham at the weekend but they managed to come away with a very respectable 1-0 win.
I feel sorry for the fans that paid £42 and made the long trip to Manchester to watch the game. Supporters would have travelled up knowing that this could have been the best chance they had of getting something out of a game with Man Utd. They are plagued with injuries (Michael Carrick playing centre back!) and they are coming off the back of a defeat to Aston Villa so confidence would have been down.
I think Wolves fans were well within their right to sing songs about wanting their money back and feeling cheated, Premier League bosses are used to taking flack for making controversial decisions and this was no exception.
It cant be denied that McCarthy has taken (rightly or not) a bold step time and I guess only time will tell whether anyone is brave (or stupid!) enough to follow his lead.
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